1) The power of the imagination is often exalted in Romantic poetry. In your opinion, does “Kubla Khan” celebrate the imagination or caution against its indulgence? To whom might Coleridge be writing and for what purpose(s)?
2) Even in the brief space of a sonnet, Shelley suggests a number of narrative frames. How many speakers do you hear in "Ozymandias"? What does each of these voices seem to say to you (or to others) as listeners?
1. I think that "Kubla Khan" celebrates the imagination but also cautions against indulging in it. On page 758, it says that Coleridge wrote "Kubla Khan" after he had taken an opium. Coleridge also added a prose introduction which he called, "a rational account of the poem's origins." When originally writing the poem I think it was completely about both the writer and readers imagination. The original poem was inspired by a dream. Dreams to me as a reader are entirely about a person's imagination. Coleridge's imagination allowed him to have the dream which inspired the poem he created.
2. While reading "Ozymandias" I believe that there was three speakers. The speakers were the Ozymandias, the narrator, and the traveler. The Ozymandias to me tell a negative story. I think they explain the way their city took a turn for the worse. The narrator begins the sonnet and speaks of an "antique land." The narrator to me tells the opposite story of the Ozymandias. Lastly, the traveler explains what he saw. According to him he saw the Ozymandias under harsh rule due to their king. Overall, I believe that the narrator starts the story in a positive way describing the city and by the end the Ozymandias are painting a different picture describing their ruined city.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
BLAKE
1) Do you agree with the editors of your textbook that Blake's poetry had the power to enact social change by appealing to the imagination of the reader?
2) Why might the editors have included the Parliament transcript as a primary source document? How did it affect your reading of Blake's work?
1. I do agree with the editors of our English textbook that Blake's poetry had the power to enact social change. However, I also feel as if Blake didn't only appeal to the imagination of the reader. Besides imagination I think Blake also wants to his readers to sympathy for the child in both poems. In The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence , after I read it I felt bad for the child because he had to endure child labor but also hopeful because he believed he would go to heaven. Seeing the child have hope that one day he was be rewarded for his hard work on Earth in heaven gave me a feeling of optimism. In the Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Experience, I felt bad for the child because he had nothing to look forward too. Instead of thinking his next life would be wonderful he was negative, and depressed because of what he had to go through. His childhood was wasted and he had to live with the fact that his parents sold him into his fate. I imagined if I was this child who had to sweep chimneys would I be optimistic or would I be pessimistic?
2. I think including the Parliament transcript as a primary source document was very beneficial for the reader. When I read a poem most times I just think the writer makes it up. After reading the poems I was able to read the primary source document and see that child labor really did happen. It was an issue back then and I think writing the poem is a way to express that. I also think the primary source document draws more attention to the poem. It backs up Blake's poetry with actual evidence. Overall, I think without the Parliament transcript the poem wouldn't make as much of an impact as it did with the background information.
2) Why might the editors have included the Parliament transcript as a primary source document? How did it affect your reading of Blake's work?
1. I do agree with the editors of our English textbook that Blake's poetry had the power to enact social change. However, I also feel as if Blake didn't only appeal to the imagination of the reader. Besides imagination I think Blake also wants to his readers to sympathy for the child in both poems. In The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence , after I read it I felt bad for the child because he had to endure child labor but also hopeful because he believed he would go to heaven. Seeing the child have hope that one day he was be rewarded for his hard work on Earth in heaven gave me a feeling of optimism. In the Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Experience, I felt bad for the child because he had nothing to look forward too. Instead of thinking his next life would be wonderful he was negative, and depressed because of what he had to go through. His childhood was wasted and he had to live with the fact that his parents sold him into his fate. I imagined if I was this child who had to sweep chimneys would I be optimistic or would I be pessimistic?
2. I think including the Parliament transcript as a primary source document was very beneficial for the reader. When I read a poem most times I just think the writer makes it up. After reading the poems I was able to read the primary source document and see that child labor really did happen. It was an issue back then and I think writing the poem is a way to express that. I also think the primary source document draws more attention to the poem. It backs up Blake's poetry with actual evidence. Overall, I think without the Parliament transcript the poem wouldn't make as much of an impact as it did with the background information.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Gulliver's Travels
a.) Question 1: Why did Gulliver fall asleep on the ground of an unknown land?
- I chose this question because if I was the teacher I would want my students to come up with different answers as to why they thought Gulliver fell asleep on the ground. It would be interesting to hear other people's opinions and ideas.
Question 2: Why did the Lilliputians tie down and peg Gulliver to the ground when they found him asleep?
- This question could help students come up with various tactics the Lilliputians might have thought about and actually did when they saw Gulliver. Students could question if it was a strategy or if the Lilliputians were just afraid of the unknown.
Question 3: When Gulliver woke up why didn't he use his strength and size to untie himself?
- When discussing this question students could questions both Gulliver's mind and size. Was he strategically laying on the ground? Was he honestly scared to get up?
b.) This week while doing prep work for my teacher group I was sort of unsure what to write about to discuss next week. As I read the story anything I was confused or had opinions about I wrote down. Some of those thoughts later became my questions. This helped me out because as a student I was unsure of some answers so I figured I wasn't the only one. Next week when discussing Gulliver's Travels maybe other student's will add on to my ideas and make the discussion better. Later in the week when we made our student groups Kelsey and I worked together. Working with someone else was a big help because things I was unsure of she had ideas about. It cleared up any problems I was unsure about and helped make the prep work much easier to get done.
c.) On Monday when presenting the work to another teacher group my plan is to start with the questions. If the other group has something to say I will definitely consider that and I think it will make the discussion better in general. If the other group doesn't like what my group has to say or doesn't agree with us I plan to ask for their input and take suggestions on how we can make our presentation better. Overall I hope the presentation goes the way I've planned, but if it doesn't I will fix it. I won't just stop trying to teach or show the other teacher group our presentation. Instead I will refer to the book and possibly ask them to share their prep work with us so we can compare questions and ideas.
- I chose this question because if I was the teacher I would want my students to come up with different answers as to why they thought Gulliver fell asleep on the ground. It would be interesting to hear other people's opinions and ideas.
Question 2: Why did the Lilliputians tie down and peg Gulliver to the ground when they found him asleep?
- This question could help students come up with various tactics the Lilliputians might have thought about and actually did when they saw Gulliver. Students could question if it was a strategy or if the Lilliputians were just afraid of the unknown.
Question 3: When Gulliver woke up why didn't he use his strength and size to untie himself?
- When discussing this question students could questions both Gulliver's mind and size. Was he strategically laying on the ground? Was he honestly scared to get up?
b.) This week while doing prep work for my teacher group I was sort of unsure what to write about to discuss next week. As I read the story anything I was confused or had opinions about I wrote down. Some of those thoughts later became my questions. This helped me out because as a student I was unsure of some answers so I figured I wasn't the only one. Next week when discussing Gulliver's Travels maybe other student's will add on to my ideas and make the discussion better. Later in the week when we made our student groups Kelsey and I worked together. Working with someone else was a big help because things I was unsure of she had ideas about. It cleared up any problems I was unsure about and helped make the prep work much easier to get done.
c.) On Monday when presenting the work to another teacher group my plan is to start with the questions. If the other group has something to say I will definitely consider that and I think it will make the discussion better in general. If the other group doesn't like what my group has to say or doesn't agree with us I plan to ask for their input and take suggestions on how we can make our presentation better. Overall I hope the presentation goes the way I've planned, but if it doesn't I will fix it. I won't just stop trying to teach or show the other teacher group our presentation. Instead I will refer to the book and possibly ask them to share their prep work with us so we can compare questions and ideas.
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